Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 8 further refines the existing text inserted by amendment No. 96 on Committee Stage. It proposes to delete the current section 5(2) and (3) and replace them with a minor technical amendment to ensure consistency with other courts Acts. Subsection (3)(c) is being added to facilitate the designation of a particular court office within each circuit for the purposes of the Bill. This will result in more efficient use of staff resources and allow staff to develop expertise in dealing with insolvency applications.

Amendment No. 154 proposes to replace the provision inserted on Committee Stage with a new section 153 which will now include a new provision at 19A specifying that a specialist judge shall undertake training as required by the Chief Justice or the President of the Circuit Court. This Bill contains a new area of law and it is desirable that particular training in insolvency and bankruptcy law should be undertaken. In addition, as I mentioned earlier, this court business would be conducted electronically, so some training in the use of the relevant ICT package may also be appropriate and required.

Amendment No. 155 proposes to delete the text inserted on Committee Stage and replace it with an expanded text which includes a new provision at subsection (12) allowing the President of the Circuit Court, after consultation with the specialist judge, to assign work as appropriate between a county registrar and a specialist judge.